Challenges!

I wanted to take this opportunity to let everyone know that we have changed the type of aluminum we use to make our cuff bracelet blanks. We are now using what is called "3003"; it is a definite upgrade! It has more "spring" to it and seems stronger even though it is the same thickness as the old aluminum. Does using a better grade aluminum mean that we will be raising our prices you ask? NOPE! How awesome is that?? It IS a bit more expensive than the old aluminum, but we will be absorbing that difference ourselves in order to bring you a superior product at the same great price! Yay! :)
One other announcement:
We have been working with our sheet metal supplier to find a type of brass that will work well for making our own brass cuffs. (like we do our aluminum cuffs) There are many types of brass (didn't know that before we started looking into buying the stuff lol) and what we need is something strong yet lightweight, with the "spring" needed for bracelet cuffs. But we need it to be inexpensive enough for us to be able to buy it, make it into cuffs and then sell it to our customers at a better price than the brass cuffs we sell now are. (those we have to buy from a manufacturer) This has proven challenging, to say the least! We are being very picky; we want to be able to provide our customers with a quality product at a great price! I am confident that we will hit on just the right material soon, hopefully within the month......Just wanted to give you all a heads up to be on the lookout for brass cuffs, coming soon!!! And, while we are on the subject, what would you think of copper cuff bracelet blanks? Should we or no? In the process of looking at brass, our supplier also showed us some copper that we got samples of and made into cuffs.....I was very happy with the end result (very pretty color and easy to work with material) but we don't know how many folks would want copper cuffs. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated!! :)
Thats it for now, have a Beady Good Day! :)

Decoupage and More......

I have been playing around with Decoupage lately and I am so excited about the results! I used our aluminum cuffs to experiment with and whatever paper items I had lying around....magazines, ribbons, metal leaf, opal papers, tissue paper etc, and Mod Podge. (which I picked up at Hobby Lobby) It was soooo easy, I was shocked! Just apply a thin layer of the Mod Podge to the cuff and start laying down paper, then apply another layer of Mod Podge over the top to seal. Let dry and apply more Mod Podge.....do this several times and Voila! A decoupage cuff!!  Here are a few examples of what I came up with on my FIRST TRY.....here, a cuff I made with leaf patterns cut out of a magazine and purple tissue paper:

 

 

Not too bad, right? Here is another view:

 
 

And here is one I did with opal papers, metal leaf, tissue paper and a picture I cut out of a catalog that I sandwiched in between two silicone bubbles:

 
 

And another view of the same cuff:

 
 

Here is one I did using Black and Hot Pink tissue paper, special request from my daughter:

 
 

And now here is one that I did using tissue paper and metal leaf on top of Lacy's Stiff Stuff, backed with deer skin and beaded around the edges:

  

Two more views of the same cuff:

 
 

  

Now, I KNOW that these cuffs are not professional grade...but these were my FIRST try! Imagine what you could do if you already have experience with decoupage!! Imagine what you could do even if you don't. I have to tell you, this was FUN. Really fun. And easy. And best of all, didn't cost an arm and a leg! The cuffs (If I had to buy them from myself, lol) were no more than $1.30 each, the Mod Podge was around $5.00, (and will last a long time) and the rest was just stuff I had laying around anyway! So there you go.....$1.50 to make a cuff, maybe $2.00. What could be better? :)

Until next time, Have a Beady Good Day!